[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 136 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32952-32953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15073]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement of the Department of Veterans Affairs Housing Loan Program
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Under the authority of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and its implementing regulations, VA intends to prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to evaluate the
potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental consequences
of continued operation and administration of VA's Housing Loan Program
(HLP). VA's reference to the HLP includes federal assistance,
administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), in the form
of loans made, insured, or guaranteed by VA. It also includes housing
benefits that can be used in conjunction with the HLP (e.g., the
Specially Adapted Housing program). Under the HLP, VBA is also
responsible for the management, marketing, and disposition of real
estate owned (REO) properties that VA acquires following the
foreclosure of certain VA-guaranteed loans and loans held in VA's
portfolio. This notice opens the public scoping phase and invites
interested parties to identify potential issues, concerns, and
reasonable alternatives that should be considered in the PEIS.
Following the scoping meeting referenced below, a Draft PEIS will be
prepared and circulated for public comment.
DATES: All written comments should be submitted by August 15, 2018.
VA invites federal, state, tribal, and local entities; non-profit
organizations; businesses; interested parties; and the general public
to comment on the proposed scope and content of the PEIS. VA will
consider all scoping comments in developing the PEIS. VA will conduct a
public scoping meeting on Thursday, August 2, 2018, from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m. at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701
Marinelli Road, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The scoping meeting will
afford the public an opportunity to learn more about the project and
provide input on the environmental analysis process. During the
meeting, VA will provide an overview of the project, as well as details
regarding the PEIS scope, purpose, and need. VA will also outline the
overall NEPA process. Additionally, VA will post a scoping presentation
on a publicly available website during the 30-day scoping period. Such
presentation will be available at http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/environmental_impact.asp.
Proposed Actions and Alternatives: VA's Proposed Action is to
continue administering the HLP and incorporating programmatic changes
as necessitated by amendments to program authorities, Veteran need,
market conditions, and factors not foreseen at the time of this
publication.
VA's No Action Alternative refers to a scenario wherein VA operates
the HLP in a manner consistent with policies
[[Page 32953]]
and procedures as of fiscal year 2017 (October 1, 2016 through
September 30, 2017). The No Action Alternative is being presented as a
snapshot in time to provide a baseline from which to compare the
Proposed Action. Nevertheless, the No Action Alternative is likely
unrealistic, as it assumes that HLP policies and requirements are
frozen, and thereby does not account for subsequent programmatic
improvements, legislation, Executive Branch directives, or other
requirements.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through http://www.regulations.gov; by mail or hand delivery to the Director, Office
of Regulation Policy and Management (00REG), Department of Veterans
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Room 1063B, Washington DC 20420; or by
fax to 202-273-9026. Comments should indicate that they are submitted
in response to ``Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Housing Loan Program''. Copies of comments received will be available
for public inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and Management
(00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Room
1063B, Washington, DC 20420, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). Please call
(202) 461-4902 (this is not a toll-free number) for an appointment.
During the comment period, comments may also be viewed online through
the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elysium Drumm, VA Housing Loan
Program, at 202-632-8790 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The most significant element of the HLP is
the provision of housing benefits that assist eligible Veterans in
financing the purchase, construction, repair, or improvement of a home
for their personal occupancy. See 38 U.S.C. 3701 et seq. VBA
administers these and other housing benefits, such as assistance to
Veterans who want to adapt their homes, to assist Veterans in
readjusting to civilian life. The HLP provides what can be, for some
Veterans, their sole opportunity to obtain crucial housing loans and
adaptations.
Through this PEIS, VA is using the NEPA process to evaluate the
potential physical, environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic effects
of the HLP; to invite public participation; and to assist with and
inform future agency planning and decision making related to the HLP.
The PEIS will also evaluate the HLP, which assists hundreds of
thousands of Veterans each year across the United States and its
territories, to ensure that VA appropriately considers the human
environmental elements and effects specified in 40 CFR 1508.8 (i.e.,
ecological, aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, social, or health,
whether direct, indirect, or cumulative) in carrying out the various
elements and aspects of the program. This PEIS is unique in that it
addresses an existing program, and VA has no specific or immediate need
to change its operational structure or procedures to address
environmental impacts. Furthermore, the making of loan guaranties,
direct loans, and grants do not typically, in and of themselves, result
in direct environmental impacts. Environmental impacts, if they occur,
would be the result of private citizen actions (e.g., construction of a
house funded by VA-guaranteed loan financing) related to a specific
property. In this case, the primary environmental impacts of concern
for VA would be the potential indirect impacts from homeowner actions
and the potentially significant cumulative impacts of small incremental
actions on local and regional resources.
As part of the scoping process, VA encourages federal, state,
tribal, and local entities; non-profit organizations; businesses;
interested parties; and the general public to provide input on any
areas of environmental concern relevant to the HLP, and suggestions
regarding potential environmental impacts that should be evaluated. VA
will consult with such parties during VA's preparation of the PEIS.
Signing Authority
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jacquelyn
Hayes-Byrd, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs,
approved this document on July 10, 2018, for publication.
Dated: July 10, 2018.
Jeffrey M. Martin,
Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of the
Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-15073 Filed 7-13-18; 8:45 am]
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